


The Sounds of You Breathing

by twilightscribe



Category: Captain America (2011), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Angst, Community: capkinkmeme, Complete, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Sleep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-13
Updated: 2012-05-13
Packaged: 2017-11-05 08:05:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/404168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twilightscribe/pseuds/twilightscribe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony doesn't even have to wake up to make Steve feel better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sounds of You Breathing

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Звучание твоей жизни](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4207167) by [Hrizotil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hrizotil/pseuds/Hrizotil)



> **Words:** 658 words  
>  **Prompt:** Tony snores. Steve loves it because it reminds him he's not alone, especially after a nightmare. Bonus if Tony doesn't even have to wake up to make Steve feel better. [ [original prompt here](http://capkink.livejournal.com/1973.html?thread=1680565#t1680565) ]

When he wakes up in the middle of the night, panting and still half-stuck in a nightmare, he sometimes panics. Well, he nearly does. It takes a few seconds for his surroundings to reassert themselves; to tell him that he's not being pelted with freezing wind, that it's so cold he can see his breath, that he's reaching out and Bucky's –

The thought is always cut off before it can finish.

But then he looks up and there's no grey clouds and snow covered mountains surrounding him, but there's a ceiling and walls and an entire wall of windows overlooking the ocean and Tony snoring peacefully beside him.

That's, ultimately, what grounds him firmly in reality, in the here and now. The walls and windows are nice, but it's Tony sleeping beside him, eyes closed and the faint glow of the arc reactor throwing out a pale blue light, that makes his heart stop racing and a small to start tugging at the corners of his lips.

Sometimes he wakes Tony up if it's been a hard day or if the nightmares are just that bad. It's nice when that happens, but Steve can't help but feel a tiny sting of guilt because Tony doesn't get enough sleep as it is and Steve's just taking away more of it.

As nice as it is to have Tony wrap his arms around him, pull him so close that he can feel the arc reactor against his skin, and just ramble on about something, just having Tony beside him is enough.

There's the soft whirring of the arc reactor, an ever-present sound which Steve has come to associate with _safe, he's alive, **alive** , alive not dead, safe and warm and alive_. Steve has never felt anything but wonder, happiness, relief, gratitude for that piece of technology. It keeps Tony alive and with him and that's what matters.

Maybe the scars should be ugly, maybe he should reel away (Tony certainly seemed to feel that way about it), but none of that matters to him. Tony is a survivor, that's what it tells him; that he's brilliant and flawed but a fighter and a survivor. Steve loves him, everything about him – even the parts that Tony thinks he shouldn't.

Because Steve isn't perfect either. He has fears and worries like anyone else and he's got his failures too. Failures that haunt him in the middle of the night and stalk his nightmares and keep him from sleeping.

When he can't sleep, he just lies in bed and watches Tony sleep.

Tony always looks more peaceful when he's asleep; when he lets all of his worries go for the moment, when there's not too many thoughts to cram inside that brilliant, huge mind of his. He looks younger, too, young and peaceful and so beautiful that it makes Steve's heartache at the same time that it makes him smile.

Warmth blossoms somewhere deep within his chest as he watches Tony sleep, listens to the soft whir of the arc reactor, and lets the sound of Tony's soft snores fill his ears. It's a warmth that fills Steve with peace and lets him relax. He feels content. Happy.

And when he finally feels like he can fall asleep, he reaches out and lays a hand gently on the reactor, just feeling it for a few moments, before he cuddles up next to Tony and just holds him close. Tony sleeps like the dead when he does, so he doesn't wake up, but he snuggles closer and that makes Steve smile.

There might be a lot about this time that he's woken up in that he doesn't understand and there's a lot that he misses – so much that he's _**lost**_ – but he can get up and face it all in the morning with Tony at his side. That's all he needs and he's content.

Steve falls asleep and knows that he's not alone. The nightmares are still there, but he doesn't feel alone anymore.

**FIN.**


End file.
